Let There Be Peace on Earth… I guess I’ll start

Narrative based on Mark 1:1-8 & Isaiah 40

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (Mark’s beginning)

The prophet Isaiah tells of a time when a messenger will be sent to prepare a way for the works of God. Isaiah calls us to attention “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.” The messenger will prepare for when “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.” Isaiah goes on to tell us about the glory of God, the one who created all and cares for creation: “God will feed God’s flock like a shepherd; God will gather the lambs in God’s arms and carry them in God’s bosom and gently lead the mother sheep.” There is to be no confusion for Isaiah, he clearly defines the deity he is talking about and tells us their actions: “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. God does not faint or grow weary, God’s understanding is unsearchable. The Creator gives power to the faint and strengthens the powerless.”

John the Baptizer is God’s messenger, preparing the way for a Messiah - the one who will give power to the faint and strengthen the powerless. John’s birth was foretold by the Angel Gabriel, John lept in his mother’s womb when Mary, the God-bearer (mother of Jesus), walked near. (apparently he was eager to get started)

John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All the people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

John was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

John proclaimed, "The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

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What’s the Point?

Outside Christian contexts, good people make a difference in their actions. They pave the way for good to conquer evil. They pave the way for the powerless to be strengthened and for peace.

All of the small and big ways that you work for the benefit of others, they matter and you matter. No matter how bad things appear, good will always win in the end. Peace is possible and it begins with each of us.

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“The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Let There Be Peace On Earth, And Let It Begin With Me.

Advent is a season of anticipation. This week we recognize that we are a people called to live in peace, as Christ lived in peace. Christ’s life of peace is just the beginning.

We anticipate not just remembering and celebrating the birth of the Messiah but are called to remember that Christ is to return. And in the second coming, not only bring salvation but will abolish all the causes of sin and evil and gather all believers from the ends of the earth. Nothing will be able to separate us from Christ’s peace in that time.

Christian worship is designed to bring us closer together as a community and closer to God. Worship is a practice for when we are living in the reign of God. Worship is the place, of all places, where Christians should be at peace. Worship is how Christians practice to live peace-filled and peace-making lives.

That’s how it is supposed to work…

Earlier this week, I was humbly reminded that things do not always work how they are supposed to.

On a Facebook group, I got sucked into a tedious debate over the minutia of how to host communion.

Post: “I see increasing numbers of clergy breaking the bread during the Great Thanksgiving. No! The Breaking of the Bread comes after the Lord’s Prayer. See pages 29 and 39 of the Book of Worship. I’m one of the few (apparently) people who cares about this sort of thing. But c’mon, people, let’s do it right.”

I caught myself getting pulled into this argument.

I posted a comment: “Clergy should use the inspiration of the Spirit to discern how to host the Lord’s Supper in a way that makes Christ’s grace most accessible for acceptance by the congregation and themselves.”

Response 1: And why is our individual “discernment,” flawed as it is, preferable to the wisdom of the church over the years? To me that smacks of arrogance.

Alrighty. 

When I checked yesterday, there were more than 250 comments from clergy weighing in on this topic.

One side was accusing the other of disregarding all the traditions and sacraments of the church.

The middle points to the historical and theological basis for either time in the service. Some saying “Who cares?”

The other side was accused of being the cause of the downfall and division of the church in their legalism.

Keep in mind, this is a question of when to break the bread, not what to say, not the validity of the sacrament, just when, in the liturgy, clergy should symbolically break the bread.

This was absurd.

We wonder why we don’t have world peace. These are people who are in ministry, leading churches, me among them, who are arguing over when to break bread for communion. The Lord’s Supper is an essential means of grace, communion is to make us holier. It is supposed to make us sanctified closer to the image of God, closer to the reign of God where sin and evil no longer exist. Closer to peace on all the earth.

But just like so so so many Christians and faith leaders before us, we fell right into legalism and false orthodoxy over an absurdly small detail.

I was not above this – I went in while writing this very sermon and instead of choosing peace, chose to be “right” – commenting that I was using that comment thread and post in my sermon. That was not necessary! I could have just left it alone.

Why are we like this? Why do we feel like we need to be “right” instead of giving grace? This happens to all of us – we make mountains out of molehills in our relationships with our families, with random people on the internet, when we are listening to the news and choosing polarization instead of relationship.

We are called as Christians to take in all the teachings of Christ and weave them into the fibers of our beings. We are to be fundamentally changed, transformed into grace, by grace so that we put aside these absurdities.

Here’s the good news… Christ’s grace is enough to atone for all the sins of the world for all of time. It is enough to atone for the pettiness and sass of this pastor who didn’t choose peace with a stranger on the internet. Because of the massive grace in Christ that can cover all our mistakes, I can humbly share this with you all.

I can ask for forgiveness and for the Spirit to work in me to choose peace next time.

I can ask my beloved people in my Christian community to help me be accountable for being a peacemaker. It is because of the Prince of Peace, the one whose arrival we celebrate at Christmas, the same one we look forward in expectation to return, that I can hope for peace. I can expect the Spirit to work in me and help peace begin with me.

 May each of us choose peace.

Parting Wishes

Let peace begin with us. Let this be the moment now. With each breath, let us proclaim the possibility of peace and embody it, giving sacrificially to others, speaking against injustice, and working to make our lives look like God planned them to be. O come with us, abide with us, Peace is ours to tell.